Cultivation: Beginning with the Heart Reflecting Heaven and Earth

Generally speaking, one can circulate the Qi cultivation technique for about three cycles per day at the first level of Qi cultivation, six cycles at the middle level, and nine cycles at the later level.

If you use protective pills or have a special constitution, you can cultivate for several more cycles, and your cultivation speed will naturally increase.

No matter how careful you are when practicing, it will still damage your meridians. Therefore, you must stop after circulating the energy for a few cycles. If you force yourself to continue practicing, the energy will regress instead of progress.

At this moment, Lu Qian was cultivating in his inner world and tested his limits. Without restoring his meridians, he could only cultivate for two cycles, which was the state of being unskilled. After becoming skilled, he could circulate for three cycles, which was roughly the limit under natural conditions. To improve further, he would need meridian-protecting pills.

But he was not satisfied with this. Through repeated observation of the Qi circulation route of the "Fire and Furnace" exercise, he found several points that were easy to collide with and damage the meridians. When he circulated his Qi there, he was careful and was able to circulate it two more times, which was twice the original limit.

"That's the advantage of having a master; they can teach you the secrets of cultivation step by step, making it easier to make progress."

"Relying solely on one's own cultivation, unless one is truly a genius with exceptional comprehension, it's easy to get stuck in a rut and even hurt oneself."

Lu Qian has no master, but he can make endless mistakes in his inner world and completely monitor his own physical condition, which is much more useful than a typical master.

At this point, that's about enough. Continuing to change the qi route would take a lot of time, which wouldn't be worthwhile.

He withdrew from the world of his mind, swallowed a pill, and smoothly circulated the Furnace-Fishing Technique, reaching the first level of Qi Refining.

Lu Qian did not stop, but continued to cultivate, circulating his energy for four cycles before finally stopping.

"After about three cycles of normal operation, the medicinal effect of Huangyadan will wear off. For most people, that's just right, but for me, it's a little too little."

Even a novice cultivator can fully utilize the medicinal power of pills, but Lu Qian has already practiced this hundreds of times in his inner world and is very skilled at it, so he naturally won't waste the medicinal power.

"At my current pace, it will take at least a month to reach the second level of Qi Refining, and that's with a constant supply of Yellow Sprout Pills. Other three spiritual roots will only take even longer. I wonder how it compares to two spiritual roots."

The higher the realm, the more time it takes to break through, and there are also bottlenecks to overcome.

Once you reach the later stages of Qi Refining, it may be difficult to advance to the next level for four or five years. Usually, you need the assistance of elixirs to avoid wasting time.

"If you can reach the ninth level of Qi Refining by the age of thirty, you are definitely a potential Foundation Establishment seed. If you haven't established your foundation by the age of fifty, there is basically no hope for you in the future."

Lu Qian has three spiritual roots and is sixteen years old this year, which is considered to be the normal level of a disciple of the Canghai Sect.

It generally takes about three years to reach the middle stage of Qi Refining, which is the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Nine years later, one reaches the late stage of Qi Refining, which is the seventh level of Qi Refining.

By the time they reach the peak of Qi Refining, they are usually in their thirties or forties.

This is under ideal circumstances.

Since this is an average case, the year's performance will naturally be somewhat variable; some years will be very fast, and some will be very slow.

For example, if someone breaks through from the mid-stage of Qi Refining to the late stage, they might be stuck for three or four years without being able to break through. However, after reaching the late stage of Qi Refining, they can be stuck for three or four years at each level, which gives them a twenty-year range of flexibility.

In fact, if too many pills are taken, the toxicity from the pills will accumulate in the body, and it is possible to be stuck at a bottleneck for half a lifetime or even a lifetime, especially in the late stage of Qi Refining. Some late-stage Qi Refining cultivators with white hair have reached this stage because of this.

"With a constant supply of pills, I can cultivate to the second level of Qi Refining in a month, and then to the third level in three months. It will probably take about nine months to break through to the middle level of Qi Refining, and a little over a year to reach the middle level of Qi Refining."

This speed is quite fast, only slightly slower than that of someone with two spiritual roots.

However, those with two spiritual roots usually become disciples of Foundation Establishment elders not long after they begin their training. They have no shortage of pills and spiritual veins, and they can reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining in less than a year, the mid-stage of Qi Refining within five years, and the late-stage of Qi Refining within ten years.

Therefore, as long as those with two spiritual roots do not die young and perform normally, they can almost all reach the peak of Qi Refining before the age of thirty. If they take the Foundation Establishment Pill, they have about a 40% chance of success.

"Forget it, let's not think about it too much and go accept the mission first."

There are only ten Yellow Sprout Pills, enough for ten days. To obtain new pills, you can only do quests.

It was nearly dusk, and the sun was setting. Yet, Lu Qian felt a surge of pride. He believed that if he could break through all obstacles, he might one day become immortal and live forever.

After mastering the "Fire-Fishing Furnace Technique," even without learning any magic, Lu Qian still felt light and agile, making his ascent up the mountain much faster.

"Not learning magic makes me feel a bit insecure. I should take on the mission as soon as possible and see which magic to learn."

The mission lobby is built on a large flat area on the mountain, and this open space was created by leveling an entire mountain peak. It is breathtaking from a distance.

At this time, both the sky and the foot of the mountain were bustling with people coming and going in an endless stream.

Every now and then, people would maneuver flying magical artifacts to land, scattering spiritual light, while others would ride on the backs of large birds, slowly descending.

"It truly encompasses all kinds of birds and beasts!"

After only a couple of glances, Lu Qian looked away. One day, he would become one of them.

In the later stages of Qi Refining, one can manipulate magical artifacts to fly; however, to fly on one's own, one must first reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

Foundation Establishment cultivators are assigned tasks by their sects, so they naturally wouldn't come here.

Inside the mission hall, there is an enormous glass screen that flashes with lines of text from time to time, all of which are brief information about the mission. If you want to see more detailed information, you have to find a special steward.

Lu Qian didn't search for long before he found a task suitable for newly initiated outer disciples on a wooden board. It was similar to what Chen Yu had said: guarding spiritual herbs, raising fish and forging iron, making talismans and grinding ink, with the greatest demand being for chopping wood.

This is not ordinary firewood; it's ironwood, which is used to forge first-tier swords. The demand and consumption are both very high. Redwood can be used for forging weapons, refining pills, and even for spiritual cooking. A lot of it is consumed every day.

There's also the Hundred-Year Bamboo, which can be used to make spirit boats or fishing rods, and it can also be used for netting fish. Sedimentary wood is used to make spirit incense and build wooden houses. The consumption of these is not large, but it is still quite considerable.

In short, the sect is always short of people to chop wood, which is also one of the most popular tasks for outer sect members.

Perhaps Lu Qian had been looking around for a while, because the outer sect steward next to him chuckled and said, "If you want to take on a mission, you'd better hurry. Although the sect provides all kinds of tools for free, the tools are not all the same. They are in different conditions of use. Some are very old. If you break them, you'll have to buy new ones."

"Moreover, some tasks are not just for you to do work, but also for selecting disciples. For example, cutting down ironwood is a test of swordsmanship. A master swordsman can tell your level just by looking at the marks you leave behind, and might even take you into the inner sect."

Lu Qian just smiled when he heard this and didn't take it to heart. What swordsman would spend all day looking at the marks left on ironwood?

This isn't the way to find a kendo genius.

But then again, it's not entirely impossible.

Everything is possible.